Theoretical model for motility and processivity of two-headed molecular motors

Abstract

The processive motion of two-headed molecular motors is studied theoretically by introducing a model that takes into account the coordinated motion of the constituent heads and the detachment process of heads from linear molecular tracks. The mean velocity, the mean run length, and the mean run time of the motor along the track are calculated numerically based on the Langevin equation. It turns out that the model, with appropriate choice of model parameters, can explain qualitatively the dependence of these quantities on the external load and adenosin triphosphate concentration observed experimentally for kinesin motors. Furthermore, we discuss how the motility and processivity of the motor are affected by various model parameters, which may be tested by experiments.